Suni Lee: The Gymnastics Phenom Who Overcame Adversity
Suni Lee: The Gymnastics Phenom Who Overcame Adversity
By Jocelyn Alano July 30, 2024 04:27
It all started in Suni Lee's hometown of St. Paul, Minnesota. Suni, an active child full of movement and tumbles, created a wooden balance beam in the backyard by her father to control her hyperactivity. Suni started her gymnastics career at six.
Overcoming Adversity
It was not all roses on Suni's journey to the top. The family was barely scraping by, and the issue of how to pay for gymnastics training weighed on them all. Even more so, Suni's father broke his spine in a fall from a ladder and became partially paralyzed in 2019. This strained the child's family even more, adding to many emotions in Suni's early life.
Suni persisted through her gymnastic training 8-12 hours a day. Her hard work and natural talent started to pay off, and she swiftly progressed through the USA Gymnastics Women's Development Program ranks.
Prospect Rewind: Emerging Standouts and Preps Awards
So, what made Suni so successful in gymnastics at such an early age was kind of miraculous. At the age of 7, she won a state all-around competition at just her second meet ever. That program allowed her to rise through three separate age groups the next year. Before she was 11, she had made it into elite qualifying status.
From there, Suni's career took off. She qualified for the national team at the junior level at 14 years old and represented the USA internationally on senior, competing for her country for the first time in March of 2019 during the City Of Jesolo Trophy, Italy, where she won the AA and helped Team USA win gold. She completed her collection of FIG World Championships medals that year with gold and silver.
Route to the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo
In 2021, Suni came in second all-around behind her idol and America's four-time Olympic champion Simone Biles at the US Olympic Team Trials. She earned a spot on the US Olympic team and went to Tokyo with lofty expectations of what she would accomplish in the Games.
Suni's Shining Moment at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics
Although a longshot to win the all-around competition compared to dominant Simone Biles, Suni took full advantage when she stepped in after Biles withdrew from most of her event finals with "the twisties," which is basically like writer's block for gymnasts.
Her 18-year-old teammate, meanwhile, fueled by the backbreaking difficulty of her uneven bars set the highest of any competitor in decades, held off Brazil's Rebeca Andrade and took home Olympic all-around gold. In the process, she extended a string of five straight US women champions. Suni picked up a team silver medal for the United States and was third in bars.
An accomplishment celebrated worldwide, Suni made even more history when she earned the title of one of the Sports Illustrated Athletes Of The Year in 2021. She had solidified her perch as a gymnast prodigy and a genuine role model for countless budding athletes in Tokyo.
Lewis on Collegiate Gymnastics & Health Battles
Following her historic showing in Tokyo, Suni joined the ranks of Auburn University as a student-athlete this past fall. She carried her success onto the collegiate stage, claiming eight All-America honors in her debut season and winning the NCAA beam championship and SEC uneven bars title.
But it wasn't an easy path for Suni. In private, she was dealing with mental health problems and even 'impostor syndrome' immediately after winning her Olympic gold medal. She said she experienced security issues and attempted stalking on campus, causing her to take virtual classes later.
Suni's health took a turn for the worse at the start of 2023. She woke up one morning with swollen ankles that eventually spread to her face, legs, and hands. The root of the problem was an off-the-mat kidney issue that kept doctors from giving her clearance to continue training and competing. Suni was sidelined, unable to compete at the World Championships or Pan American Games as she recovered.
Olympic Champion Determined To Defend Gold Split between the Two Posts
Despite the adversity, Suni still plans to compete in her attempt to defend her Olympic gold medal at the Paris Games 2024. Currently, she is maneuvering the complex world of her medical conditions.
With unbreakable determination and relentless will to win, the journey of Suni stands as a reminder testament. With roots from St. Paul and an ending in the throes of Olympic gold glory, Suni Lee represents not just a testament to years of hard work but also rebirth through trauma.
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